1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer data processing and, more particularly, methods of and systems for monitoring and analyzing pedestrian traffic.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are countless occasions and studies in which knowing where people are at any given time is valuable. Some occasions are quite serious. For example, emergency services—such as fire departments and paramedics—need to get to places quickly. If areas of a city are blocked by public gatherings, public demonstrations, or the city's celebration of a sports team winning a national championship, emergency response vehicles can be significantly delayed, sometimes with very serious consequences. In addition, knowing whether and where people are in a burning building is highly valuable information for a fire department.
Analysis of pedestrian traffic patterns can help significantly with urban planning. Knowing where people tend to go within a city can help with planning a mass transit system. Knowing places that people tend to avoid can identify instances of urban blight. And, once the urban blight is removed, knowing how many people tend to go to that location can provide empirical evidence of the efficacy of the blight removal. Monitoring pedestrian traffic can also determine if and how often people enter environmentally sensitive areas.
Businesses also value information regarding where people are and where they go. Knowing approximately how many people are in a store at any given time is valuable. Knowing patterns regarding how many people are in the store at different times of day and different days of the week and during clearance sales and holidays is very valuable. Also valuable is knowing from where people travel to come to the store and what other stores they go to before and after shopping in the store.
What is needed is a way to monitor and analyze pedestrian traffic.